Effects of postoperative analgesia with the combination of tramadol and lornoxicam on serum inflammatory cytokines in patients with gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the effects of postoperative patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) with morphine, tramadol, or tramadol combined with lornoxicam on serum inflammatory cytokine production.

METHODS

60 patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status of I or II, undergoing radical correction of gastric cancer, were equally randomized to receive PCIA with morphine (M group), tramadol (T group), or tramadol combined with lornoxicam (L group). The visual analog scale (VAS) and Bruggemann comfort scale (BCS) scores were used to evaluate the postoperative analgesic efficacy. Serum levels of the interleukins (IL) IL-2, IL-6, and IL-10, and soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) were measured before anesthesia, 90 min after incision, and 24, 48, and 72 h after surgery.

RESULTS

No significant difference was found in the VAS, BCS, or baseline serum IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, or sIL-2R between the groups. At 90 min after incision, only the IL-6 levels increased (p < 0.05). At 24 h after surgery, the IL-2 levels decreased, with the M group having the lowest levels, while IL-6, IL-10, and sIL-2R levels increased, with the M group having the highest level and the L group having the lowest level (p < 0.05). At 48 h after surgery, the cytokine levels were starting to return to the baselines but still had statistical significance (p < 0.05). At 72 h after surgery, only the IL-6 levels had returned to their baseline.

CONCLUSION

PCIA using tramadol combined with lornoxicam has less influence on inflammatory cytokines than morphine or tramadol alone in patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery.